Hebrews 5

When God appoints a person to be a ruling priest, he selects that person from a group of people in order to serve God for that group. The ruling priest then presents {to God} what people give or sacrifice to take away sins.

{Every ruling priest} is weak. Because of that, he can act patiently toward those who do not know much about God and toward those who believe and do what is wrong.

Further, because {each ruling priest is weak}, God requires him to present a sacrifice to take away his own sins, just like {he presents sacrifices} to take away {the sins of} the rest of the people {of Israel}. \*

Now people cannot decide to become honorable ruling priests on their own. Rather, God chooses {each person who will be a ruling priest}, just like {he chose} Aaron{, the first ruling priest}.

Similarly, the Messiah too did not decide to become a glorious ruling priest on his own. Rather, God the Father {chose him to be a ruling priest} when he said to him, “On this day, I have declared to everyone that I am your father, and you are my son!” \*

Similarly, {as you can read} in another Psalm, God the Father said {to the Messiah}: “You will never stop being a priest in the same way that Melchizedek was a priest.” \*

When the Messiah lived with us before he died and came back to life, he often prayed powerfully and sorrowfully to God. He did this because God could rescue him when he died. Because he honored God, God listened to him {and made him alive again}.

Although he is God’s Son, he learned what it means to obey God when bad things happened to him. \*

Then, when God finished making him able to do so, the Son became the one who saves forever every person who does what he requires.

{He did that} after God appointed him to be a ruling priest in the same way that Melchizedek was a priest.

We have many things to talk about with regard to Melchizedek. However, since you do not listen {and understand} well, these things will be difficult to explain {to you}. \*

{You have believed in the Messiah} for long enough that you should be teaching others {about God}. Instead, though, someone still has to teach you simple things about what God says. You are like babies who have to drink milk rather than being like adults who eat food.

All people who know very little about what is right {and what is wrong} are like people who drink only milk. In fact, they are like babies.

On the other hand, people who know much about God are {like adults who eat} food. These people have consistently practiced how to recognize and then distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. \*